For those of us wary about the swift rollout of AI and the accelerated digitalization of a society rife with schisms – cultural, socioeconomic, educational –  Press 9 for a Crime  feels like a chilling tell-all. Starting with a relatable Indian scene, of a young man, an auto driver’s oldest son, tugged to a foreign destination to earn quick bucks, it unpeels the various forces that act on us, in varying degrees and in dissimilar ways.

Snagged in a Scammer’s Web

Atul, the man in question, succumbs to an agent’s snare, which arrives in the form of an innocuous link. Saddled with the weight of family obligations and unfulfilled dreams – his 28-year-old sister Radhika’s wedding expenses, his brother Aseem’s yen to establish his own gym, his younger sister Tulika’s desire to crack the UPSC – money that can be garnered in a puffed-up foreign currency feels too good to pass up.  He heads to Bangkok with heart-wrenching resolve, tracing the labyrinthine paths laid out for victims of human trafficking.

One Click Into a Slick Con

Elsewhere, Nitesh Mishra, a journalist, engages in an act that feels all too familiar, and alarmingly effortless: prompted by his phone to “Press 9” for more info on a “failed delivery”, he does so. Like Atul, he too gets mired in a situation that’s not of his making, and one that many – even with cultural savvy and educated skepticism – can occasionally get suckered into.

Mishra is susceptible, too, because he had a brush with the real police, after a raid in his office. This time around, when the ‘Mumbai police’ accuse him of involvement in drugs delivered to Thailand, he submits to their bizarre, escalating diktats. Which involve, inevitably, the transfer of a large sum to a dubious account. Later, he wonders at how easily he was played, but the remorse imbues him with renewed purpose: to expose the criminal ringleaders and rescue their victims.

Deceivers in the Backwoods

Jha sketches the details of how such operations actually work. When Atul reaches Bangkok, he and a few others are quickly ferried to Cambodia. “Scam compounds” as these places are termed, are typically embedded in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Located in remote buildings, hidden in dense jungles reached by obscure rural roads, such spaces are fortified by electrified high walls and gun-toting guards.

The operation inside might resemble any fluorescent-lit IT workspace abounding with training programs, manuals, processes and mentors. The sameness is deceptive. Employees are quickly attuned to the undercurrents of violence: a tight slap for a smart alecky remark, a brutal beating for an error, a few days of dark room lockup – sans food and water – for insubordination. Passports are snatched at entry. All calls and messages are monitored. Sneaky attempts to escape or to notify family members are met with prompt savagery, till death feels lighter, tolerable even.

Tutored to Reel Them In

The training though is impressively meticulous. Targets are lured in by “Pig Butchering” –by building a rapport to lower their defenses, showing them huge payoffs at the end and then reeling in their money. Scams are sorted into types. A Lottery Scam that uses two apps, one fake and one real; a Romance Scam that targets older, wealthy women; a Sex Scam aimed at men who frequent dating sites; a Digital Arrest Scam that has subtypes, based on the reason for your arrest:

• • • An Overseas Parcel with Your Details Contains Drugs
    • Your Aadhar has been misused
    • Your Phone number is linked to unlawful doings
    • Your family member is implicated in a crime

Many Scammers Are Victims Too

On their first day at work, newbies are instructed to create fake profiles, ten as pretty women, ten as attractive young men. Atul twists with guilt, dwelling on his hard-working father, his pious mother. He can hardly betray them by turning into a conman. He dawdles, but such hesitation is instantly punished. Expectedly, he’s dispatched to the dark room.

A Proposal Laden With Secrets

At home, Atul’s family is berserk with anxiety. After a single missed call from Bangkok, they don’t hear from him. In the meanwhile, the siblings’ lives move on. Radhika impresses the builder’s son with her feisty comebacks and dauntless spirit. A romance seems to flicker between them, but it turns out that the foreign-returned, rich boy is gay. He proposes a lavender marriage wherein they can lead their separate, parallel lives while she gets a financial leg up. An arrangement that might work for many, but surely Radhika is too zestful to cave into such an expedient relationship?

Desi Families To the Rescue

Tulika, in the meanwhile, hits her books harder. She’s no longer satisfied with cracking the UPSC exam. She’s determined to become a police officer, and nab crooks who kidnap or hoodwink men like her brother. Aseem – and here’s a  spoiler alert  – though viewed with suspicion by his father and siblings, turns out to be more heroic after all. And more loyal to his family than to his gym-founding dreams.

Rich or Poor, the Peril is a Click Away

Jha’s book, a thriller, based on extensive research, warns us of the perils of our techno-paved lives. Scam victims can belong to the middle class or the well-heeled. Scammers, however, are drawn from the indigent and desperate, especially from the educated unemployed. AI can make all this easier and more nightmarish.

Unless policymakers and technocrats can ‘prompt engineer’ solutions to cybercrime, we would do well to educate all income classes to the dangers lurking on our 6-inch screens. A first step could involve reading  Press 9 for a Crime,  which is not just page-turning, but also instructional.

About the Author:

Shailendra Jha has also created and co-written the Disney + Hotstar series,  Grahan.  His writing has been nominated for several awards and he’s won the prestigious Screenwriters Association Award. His short film,  Tumhare Bina,  has been acclaimed at many international film festivals. He’s held senior positions at Star India and at TV Today network.

References

Shailendra Jha,  Press 9 for a Crime,  Ebury Press, Penguin Random House India, 2025